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महाराष्ट्र राज्य शिक्षण मंडळएस.एस.सी (इंग्रजी माध्यम) इयत्ता १० वी

After reading the poem, complete the following. What happens? There are three main parts of the poem. Do you know what they are about? The first one is done for you. - English

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प्रश्न

After reading the poem, complete the following. What happens? There are three main parts of the poem. Do you know what they are about? The first one is done for you.

Lines What is happening?
1-7 The scorpion comes into the home to escape the rain and stings the poet’s mother.
8-33  
34-48  
तक्ता

उत्तर

Lines

What is happening?

1-7

1) The scorpion comes into the home to escape the rain and stings the poet's mother.

8-33

2) The villagers sympathize with the mother and offer consolation in various ways. They sit around the floor with the mother in the centre. More neighbours came in to help, with more candles and more lanterns.

34-48

3) What is happening The father is desperate and though he is a rationalist, he tries all sorts of things to cure the mother. He calls a holy man to perform rites and even sets fire to the bitten toe. After twenty hours the scorpion loses Its sting. All that the mother says is that she is thankful to God that the scorpion picked her and spared her children.

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Night of the Scorpion
  या प्रश्नात किंवा उत्तरात काही त्रुटी आहे का?
पाठ 3.1: Night of the Scorpion - English Workshop [पृष्ठ १०२]

APPEARS IN

बालभारती English - Kumarbharati 10 Standard SSC Maharashtra State Board
पाठ 3.1 Night of the Scorpion
English Workshop | Q 1 | पृष्ठ १०२

संबंधित प्रश्‍न

Get into pairs and discuss the following with your partners and complete the table.

Many people are superstitious. This means that they have a belief for which they have no logical reason.

An example of superstition is that - walking under a ladder brings bad luck. In pairs, list any superstitions that you know of.

Superstition What it implies
(1) Smashing a mirror Brings seven years of bad luck.
(2)  
(3)  
(4)  
(5)  

Complete the following table.

Scorpion
Many images of the scorpion contrast in the opening lines of the poem. Find examples of each and add them to the columns below.
Timid Dangerous

(1) hides _________

(2) ___________ back

(i) Diabolic ____________

(ii) ____________


Choose the correct alternative.

The child is afraid but admires ____________.


Choose the correct alternative.

The poet seems to see the villagers as impractical and almost irritating which suggests that ________________.


Choose the correct alternative.

This is a _____________ poem as it tells a story.


Choose the correct alternative.

Using the first person gives the feeling that it is told from ______________.


Choose the correct alternative.

‘The scorpion picked on me. And spared my children’ depicts ____________.


Choose the correct alternative.

The poem is titled ‘Night of the Scorpion’, for, the major part of the poem _______________.


Read the following poem and write an appreciation of it with the help of the given points in a paragraph format:

Night of the Scorpion

I remember the night my mother
was stung by a scorpion. Ten hours
of steady rain had driven him
to crawl beneath a sack of rice.
Parting with his poison - flash
of diabolic tail in the dark room -
he risked the rain again.
The peasants came like swarms of flies
And buzzed the name of God a hundred times
to paralyse the Evil One.
With candles and with lanterns
throwing giant scorpion shadows
on the mud-baked walls
they searched for him: he was not found.
They clicked their tongues.
With every movement that the scorpion made his poison
moved in Mother's blood, they said.
May he sit still, they said
May the sins of your previous birth
be burned away tonight, they said.
May your suffering decrease
the misfortunes of your next birth, they said.
May the sum of all evil
balanced in this unreal world
against the sum of good
become diminished by your pain.
May the poison purify your flesh
of desire, and your spirit of ambition,
they said, and they sat around
on the floor with my mother in the centre,
the peace of understanding on each face.
More candles, more lanterns, more neighbours,
more insects, and endless rain.
My mother twisted through and through,
groaning on a mat.
My father, sceptic, rationalist,
trying every curse and blessing,
powder, mixture, herb and hybrid.
He even poured a little paraffin
upon the bitten toe and put a match to it.
I watched the flame feeding on my mother.
I watched the holy man perform his rites to tame the
poison with an incantation.
After twenty hours
it lost its sting.
My mother only said
Thank God the scorpion picked on me
And spared my children.

Points:

  • The title and the poet of the poem
  • Rhyme scheme
  • Figures of speech
  • Central Idea/Theme

Read the following extract and do the given activities.

A1. Match the following:

(1) Misfortunes mud-baked
(2) Ambition bad luck
(3) World goal
(4) Wall unreal

 

With candles and with lanterns
throwing giant scorpion shadows
on the mud-baked walls
they searched for him : he was not found.
They clicked their tongues.
With every movement that the scorpion made his poison
moved in Mother's blood, they said.
May he sit still, they said
May the sins of your previous birth
be burned away tonight, they said.
May your suffering decrease
the misfortunes of your next birth, they said.
May the sum of all evil
balanced in this unreal world
against the sum of good
become diminished by your pain.
May the poison purify your flesh
of desire, and your spirit of ambition
they said, and they sat around
on the floor with my mother in the centre,
the peace of understanding on each face.

-Nissim Ezekiel

A2. Write two words ending in "on".

A3. Give an example of "metaphor" from the extract.


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